Latest from Horse & Hound in Sadie-smith

Three from three: Sadie Smith completes a flawless week at Winter Dressage Championships

Oscar Williams — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 19:52:32 +0000

Sadie Smith completed a clean sweep of all the classes she’s competed in at the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships (15–19 April), winning the Black Country Saddles advanced medium gold with Times Oddjob (Vitalis x Damon Hill), scoring 71.34%.

Sadie had taken both the Baileys Horse Feeds novice freestyle gold and the Prestige novice gold with Times Rococo.

“We started off a little bit wobbly in this one,” Sadie said. “When I first halted, the tension shot through him a bit – he was looking at the [judge’s] tables. The first half of the trot was a bit wobbly, so I had to give him a get-together of, ‘Come on, you’re all right.’ And then it was much better.”

The seven-year-old’s canter work was the highlight. “I was really pleased with the canter,” Sadie said. “The changes are still a bit green, but he did some lovely changes. They’re all on the aid, all in the right place.”

Sadie added that the mediums, by contrast, remain a work in progress. “The medium trots are still a bit like Road Runner, to be honest,” Sadie laughed. “He’s getting the lift in the working trot now, but the mediums still need a bit more.”

Oddjob has form at these championships: last year he won both the elementary and elementary freestyle here, and this advanced medium gold makes it three national titles.

Consistent and correct

“He’s not a big, flashy horse, but he just does a really nice, consistent, correct test,” Sadie said. “The trot’s starting to get more expression, and the canter’s got more balance. He’s always well behaved and gets on with his job. He’s a sweet horse.”

The win was made more meaningful by the presence of owner and breeder Peter Belshaw in the crowd. “It’s nice because Peter came and watched me today, and that’s the first time he’s actually watched me win anything with him.”

Looking ahead, Sadie is taking the usual measured approach. “Just to keep training, really. He does some tempi changes now – he’s very clever – so I’ll keep going towards prix st georges. I’m always the same: I go at the rate they’re ready for. If they’re ready to move up a level, I will, and if not, I just wait. But the aim is to keep training towards grand prix and see where he goes.”

Sadie withdrew from her final class of the week – the Nupafeed advanced medium freestyle gold – as she has an international commitment in Hagen, Germany, next week.

“Otherwise, I would’ve been getting home, packing the lorry and leaving again at 3am. It gives me a day off tomorrow to try and organise my life – because I just live in the lorry at the moment.”

Sadie filled first and third in the advanced medium gold; her second ride – Laetitia van der Wyck’s seven-year-old mare Fürsten Vera (Fürstenball x Dancier) – scored 70.69%. Jessica Wade and Nicario L split the pair in second on 71.3%.

“She’s quite green – first championships for her, we haven’t had her very long,” Sadie said. “She’s a completely different horse – she’s got a really flashy, short canter, so it’s quite interesting with the two of them. They’re very different, but I’m really pleased with both of them.”

Isabel White and Quatango win the HorseHage prelim silver at the Winter Dressage Championships. (Image credit: Kevin Sparrow)

Winter Dressage Championships: Three horses, three podium finishes

Isabel White crowned a successful day by winning the 37-strong Prestige novice silver with her own seven-year-old gelding Quatango, scoring 71.94%. She was also third on Deoso I (70.59%), having earlier finished third in the HorseHage prelim silver on Sir Quattrohall with 71.07%.

All three are Isabel’s own horses, produced and backed by her, and Quatango and Deoso I have grown up together. “We bred Quatango, and bought Desoso as a foal to be his companion,” Isabel said. “They’ve grown up together.”

The winning ride was Quatango’s first real outing on a big stage. “This was his first big show. He’s done a little bit of everything – some young event horse classes, some dressage. He’s sort of seen the world, but this would be his first big experience.”

Isabel’s day job is eventing – dressage is a winter pursuit. “I’ve got a few event horses, and I joined British Dressage in the winter on their trial membership. Then I qualified for the regionals, so I thought I’d better join properly. And here we are.”

She is, by her own account, getting a taste for the discipline. “It’s very different – just as stressful, but in a different way. Really enjoyable, and everyone’s been really friendly. I’m tempted to come back and do more of it now.”

Looking at her three horses lined up at the championships, Isabel said the day had taken some adjustment. “I still see them as babies, but actually they’re big boys now.” All three, she said, will continue across both disciplines. “I think they’ll probably do a bit of both – but we’ll definitely be doing a bit more dressage now.”

Desoso, for his part, has a nickname. “He’s called Donkey – because when we bought him, he had such big ears and was the colour of a donkey. He’s definitely grown into them – he’s actually very handsome now.”

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A double crown, a rough diamond and a polo-loving ‘dude’: worthy trio delights on day two of Winter Dressage Championships

bethany.stone@futurenet.com (Bethany Stone) — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:55:43 +0000

British dressage champion, Sadie Smith, enjoyed her second prizegiving at the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships (15–19 April) after she and Peter Belshaw’s Times Rococo topped the podium in the Prestige novice gold at Addington.

“I’m chuffed to bits,” Sadie told H&H. “She went even better than yesterday, that bit bolder and with a bit more push.”

This was the duo’s second sash of the 2026 winters, as Sadie and Coco won the Baileys Horse Feeds novice freestyle gold yesterday (15 April) with 76.95%

“I thought she might be a bit tired, but she had a good rest and came out ready to go,” said Sadie.

“Coco” delivered a consistent test marred only by a little tension in the walk.

“The relaxation is coming,” said Sadie of the five-year-old. “The walk definitely improved from yesterday. I couldn’t have asked any more of her. She’s such a beautiful horse with a lovely attitude.”

Dannie Morgan and the seven-year-old Zalando followed Sadie on 72.96%. Dannie and the son of Blu Hors Zack were victorious in the novice gold winter regional at Wellington earlier in the year, where Sadie and Times Rococo slotted in behind them.

Jezz Palmer claimed third place with Martin Price’s six-year-old Birmingham son, Blackjack Anmore, on 71.4%.

Megan Armor and Dare to Trust win the Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships elementary bronze. (Image credit: Kevin Sparrow)

Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships: “He was quite feral when we got him”

It was a close-run thing in the elementary bronze at the Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships; the three top scores separated by just over half a percent.

Megan Armor and her own 10-year-old Dare To Trust clinched first with 70.73%.

This was Megan’s first area festival final at a winter dressage championships. She came on a wild card, and said she “never expected” to win her first rug today.

“Bungle” came to Megan, an instructor at Parwood Equestrian, from the RSPCA as part of the British Horse Society’s Second Chance scheme.

“He was quite feral when we got him five years ago, and came from a barn with many, many other horses,” she said. “We gained his trust, and my boss helped me back him.

“We do dressage and a bit of eventing, and he just loves his job. I’m so proud of him.”

Gemma Jones and her own 10-year-old mare Temple Omega slotted in just behind Megan with 70.57%. Lottie Walsh and her own Ramiro B gelding Meridianway Pluto B came third with 70.21%.

LucyAnna Westaway and AHI O Malley in their lap of honour on winning the Petplan Intermediate I Bronze Area Festival Championship. (Image credit: Kevin Sparrow)

Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships: “I was beaming from ear to ear”

LucyAnna Westaway delivered an astoundingly consistent test on her own 15-year-old gelding AHI O Malley.

Bar one 5, her scores remained between 6.5 and 7.5 to earn 68.03% and land her at the top of the podium in the inter I bronze at the Winter Area Festival Championships.

“I had no idea where we would come, but I’m thrilled,” LucyAnna, a freelance instructor, told H&H. “As soon as we moved off from that first canter-halt-trot, I knew it was going to be a good one.

“I was beaming from ear to ear throughout.”

Lucy has a small team of owners who she rides for, and owns “Malley” with Jonathan Smith and Frances Davis, who gifted LucyAnna a third of the Martin son.

She credits long hacks in the Surrey Hills for getting Malley fit and beautifully muscled.

“He’s a dude, and his Jazz and Spanish lines make him so much fun. He’s a cheeky chap who loves his food, and turns his head to the side and smiles for a Polo.”

Hannah MacMillan and her own Brookeborough Lad came second with 67.16%, followed by Linda Faulks and her own Knocknacree Bentley with 65.15%.

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‘She takes everything in her stride’: rising star impresses the judges at NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships

bethany.stone@futurenet.com (Bethany Stone) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:29:07 +0000

A young mare rose to the occasion under 2025 national champion, Sadie Smith, on the opening morning (Wednesday 15 April) of the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships at Addington, in which there were also first wins and new partnerships blossoming.

Sadie earned the winning sash in the Baileys Horse Feeds novice freestyle gold with Times Rococo, a five-year-old by Ibiza and out of a Negro mare. She is owned and bred by Peter Belshaw of Times Dressage.

Sadie’s score of 76.95% meant she finished ahead of Alice Oppenheimer in second by almost two per cent. Alice scored 75% on Sarah Oppenheimer and Caroline Dibden’s mare Headmore So Sapphire, and 74.45% on Sarah Oppenheimer’s Headmore Forever Ruby, securing Alice two places on the podium. Mares took all three of the top places in the class.

Sadie was full of praise for “Coco” at her first championship.

“She takes everything in her stride,” she said. “I have a really lovely relationship with her; I’ve ridden and produced her from the start, and she tries so hard.

“Even though she’s young, she can maintain a lovely frame. She is nicely balanced for her age, too. She’s lovely for me to ride as she’s so uphill.”

Although a touch insecure in her walk, Coco earned marks back in her trot and canter work, scooping plenty of 8s.

“I love doing music classes with the young horses because you can use a lot of the arena and get them used to going into the corners,” said Sadie.

“I’ve used this music (Curse of the Ice Queen/Snow White and the Huntsman soundtrack) for years. It’s emotive and beautiful. I seem to have a stamp of horse, and this music suits a lot of them.”

Eli Lovell and Parchioness G win the Horsehage Preliminary Gold Winter Championship. Photo: Kevin Sparrow (Image credit: creditUnknown)

HorseHage prelim gold: ‘Winning is a huge bonus’

He’s been the bridesmaid in the past, but today Eli Lovell secured his first winter championship crown in the HorseHage prelim gold.

Eli piloted Parchioness G, a six-year-old by Incognito. “Pascha’s” lack of mileage on the competition scene barely showed in his consistent test, in which he scored 7s and 8s across the board.

“I knew if he could go the way I know he can, we would do reasonably well,” said a delighted Eli. “But [winning] wasn’t something I was expecting; it’s a huge bonus.”

Eli shepherded the gelding through a slight spook in the canter and quickly regrouped. Pascha’s trot work, according to his rider, shone throughout the test.

“He’s not very old, and we’ve not been to many shows,” said Eli, who sourced the gelding from Holland before selling him to Sophie Bennet a year and a half ago. “We didn’t really enter regionals until the last minute, and we got a last-minute wild card, too.

“I bought him as a four-year-old and, thinking he’d be small, thought he’d be perfect for Sophie. But he just kept growing, so I recently started riding him and I’m really enjoying him.”

Eli and Parchioness G topped the podium with 72.87%, more than one per cent clear of Tahley Reeve Smith and Sarah Stoute’s Shu Fu gelding KI Smargd in second on 71.73%.

Edwina Hutton-Potts and Uno Macho van de Kiekenhoef matched Tahley’s score, but the latter pipped her to second place by 1.5 on the collective marks.

Alice Begg and Noraly win the Petplan Medium Silver Area Festival Championship. Photo: Kevin Sparrow (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Winter Area Festival Championships: a new partnership shines

It was a close-run contest in the medium silver at the Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships, but Alice Begg and her eight-year-old mare Noraly, topped the podium with 70.22%, just 0.2 of a penalty head of Imogen Swann and her own 10-year-old gelding SJL Good Looking. Hayley Sykes and her own Nuit Noir were third with 69.28%.

For Alice, the victory was particularly sweet. Her partnership with Noraly, who came from Holland as a blank canvas, is still less than a year in the making. Their win marks Alice’s first Area Festival Championships sash.

“When I got her nine months ago, she’d never been to a competition,” she told H&H. “There was a lot to work on.

“We’ve spent the last nine months doing everything we can and working very hard at home – she has a brilliant brain. For her to come here with no mileage and rise to the occasion is amazing. She thrived in the atmosphere.”

Alice worked hard on the mare’s extended canter in the build-up to the championships, which was richly rewarded with an 8 and two 7.5s.

A grade V para rider, Alice took Noraly in the CPEDI2* at Harpury’s spring international this year, and is aiming the mare for more internationals in future.

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From storms to stardom: career-best performance wins national champion title

Oscar Williams — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 18:00:50 +0000

Sadie Smith has been crowned national champion at the 70th edition of the LeMieux National Dressage Championships, winning the Kudos grand prix freestyle on 77.05% with Swanmore Dantina, and adding her name to the roll of honour alongside legends such as her mentor Carl Hester, Lorna Johnstone and Jennie Loriston-Clarke.

Sadie became the 29th rider to become national champion, and her freestyle win also sealed her place as the leading rider of the 2025 championships with four victories, including the Centre Line prelim gold earlier in the day on Peter Belshaw’s Times Roccoco (74.27%).

“I feel so emotional – it’s a career high,” Sadie said. “The people who’ve won this before are those I’ve always looked up to and aspired to be like. Carl messaged me straight after the test saying well done, and to have my name there now, with his, and to do it on my own horse too… it’s hard to put into words. You dream of doing this.”

Sadie was visibly moved when talking about her British-bred 10-year-old mare. “She’s so special – like my best friend. I can just get on and off we go together. That’s our partnership.

“She makes me feel confident, even though I’m not always confident, and it feels like it’s getting better each time as we’re learning together.”

Their win came in extreme conditions, as gale-force winds battered the showground. Spectators clung to hoardings and marquees to stop them flying away, while during Sadie’s test the sound of bins and tents crashing could be heard around the arena. A technical hitch also meant she had a long wait before starting.

“We were joking in the warm-up that this is proper British dressage – out in the rain and wind,” she said. “It did feel like everything was going to fall down around us. She was a little worried at first, but once we went in, she just relaxed and gave me more power.”

The result was a personal best. “It was probably one of the best tests I’ve done, and the first time I’ve ridden that freestyle with no mistakes. That’s what I was really hoping for.”

The freestyle, set to Japanese-inspired music, came together at the last minute. “I only had a week to get it ready before Addington CDI,” Sadie said.

“Carl kindly let me use one of Uthopia’s floorplans from the 2011 Europeans, which we adapted. It’s unusual music, but I really like it. The end was a little off as I was ahead of the music, but I think I just about pulled it back.”

A Madonna-themed routine – featuring Who’s That Girl, La Isla Bonita and Frozen – helped Gareth Hughes and Lufada MVL into second overall, and last year’s champions Lewis Robertson-Carrier and Diego V finished third.

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‘By far the best title I’ve ever won’: once-in-a-lifetime horse carries Sadie Smith to an emotional grand prix win at the National Dressage Championships

Oscar Williams — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 14:51:35 +0000

Sadie Smith and Swanmore Dantina (Dia) won the LeMieux grand prix at the 2025 LeMieux National Dressage Championships, scoring 71.96% – another statement result in a breakout year for the pair.

“To win the grand prix at the nationals has always been a dream of mine,” Sadie said. “And it’s another Dia has helped me achieve – she’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse for me.”

The win carried huge personal significance. “When I was younger it was an achievement just to get here, and I’ve only ever ridden in the grand prix here once before, on Keystone Dynamite six years ago. It’s taken that long to train another horse up to this level.”

Although she is one of the most decorated riders in British dressage, Sadie admitted this one meant more than most.

“By far, it’s the best title I’ve ever won. Grand prix is so hard – it feels like learning to ride all over again. It’s so technical, and I really admire the riders who make it look easy. It’s an amazing feeling to have done it.”

Sadie Smith leads the way in the 2025 National Dressage Championships grand prix

Alex Harrison-West and Kickback were the first in and held the lead going into the first break on 68.96%.

Sadie and Dia were the first of the pre-competition favourites to go afterwards, and opened strongly with eights for their extended trot.

The extensions across all three paces proved highlights, and more eights in the double-marked extended walk gave them a commanding lead. Dantina looked effortless throughout, the only blemish a touch of hesitation in the first and final piaffe.

“She did some lovely work – the changes were really good, and I was really pleased with my pirouettes, which we got eights for,” Sadie said.

“Her passage is getting stronger too, but today she just lost a bit of energy in the piaffe. It’s about getting the balance with the power – if I make it too hot, she gets tense and loses the relaxation in the other work. It’s still a work in progress, but she always tries for me.”

Still, Sadie came out of the arena unsure. “I was moaning to Carl [Hester] as usual, pointing out all the little bits in my test – he’s probably sick of me, I’m always so negative,” she said with a laugh.

There was still a strong line-up to come. Last year’s national champions, Lewis Robertson-Carrier and Diego V, were among the main challengers.

The 18-year-old gelding’s piaffe was as sharp as ever, but mistakes in the one-time changes and the trot transition after the second pirouette left them on 68.24% and in eventual fourth.

Becky Moody followed on James Bond II, who showed exceptional piaffe and looked poised to challenge for the lead. But Becky chose to retire the powerful 11-year-old stallion after the zig-zag, later saying she thought he might have knocked himself in the extended trot.

That put the spotlight on the final combination, Gareth Hughes and Monica Lindstedt’s Lusitano mare, Lufada MVL. They scored eights for their passage but, with mistakes in the changes, finished on 69.41% – good enough for second.

“I thought one of the others might beat me,” Sadie said. “When Gareth was going I couldn’t watch. When I found out I’d won, I just cried, to be honest. I rang Steve Readings, who co-owns Dia with me – he’s not horsey at all – and even he was so excited.”

Sadie will have the chance to follow in the footsteps of Carl, Jennie Loriston-Clarke and Charlotte Dujardin tomorrow (14 September), when the overall national champion is decided on the combined scores from the grand prix and the Kudos grand prix freestyle. She carries a 2.55% lead over Gareth, with Alex a further half a point adrift – putting her in pole position.

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‘I nearly sold her’: British dressage rider Sadie Smith on the mare who changed everything and took her to the top

Oscar Williams — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 15:30:30 +0000

Sadie Smith once planned to sell Swanmore Dantina – known at home as Dia. As a young horse, she wasn’t flashy, she was unassuming – and at first, Sadie wasn’t sure the pair of them would ever click.

Yet that “ordinary” horse has turned into one of Britain’s brightest rising dressage stars.

“I remember I was quite disappointed when she arrived,” Sadie recalls with a laugh. “She was straight-legged and she was always so fat – it was so hard to keep weight off her!

“She’s always been kind, but in the beginning, my legs sat right in the middle of her belly, which irritated her.

“Ellen Glover, who also used to work at Carl’s, would ride her for me because she was taller, and Dia always went much better for her. So I wasn’t sure she was for me.

“People were interested in buying her, but she had a splint and struggled with the vetting, so she didn’t sell.”

It turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to her.

“I ended up turning her away for four months. I told myself, ‘You have to ride her when she comes back,’ but I wasn’t exactly excited about it. Then she came back a different horse.

“She was so clever. She picked up suspension in the trot quickly because she’s so naturally balanced.

“She’s never had huge paces, but her temperament is perfect – she never spooks, she’s calm, and she just gets on with her job.

“And she really does love it. I know a lot of people say that, but she genuinely tries her heart out for you.”

Dia helped Sadie add six national titles to her tally, score international victories, and earn her first senior call-up for Britain at the Rotterdam Nations Cup.

The pair were also included among the British nominated entries for the 2025 European Dressage Championships.

“We’ve obviously still got a lot of improving to do,” Sadie says, “but to be where we are now is all I’ve ever dreamed of.

“It’s so lovely to have a horse like her, that I don’t want to overdo it and then spoil her.

“You could quite easily try to do too much too quickly with her, so I’ve got to be careful – that’s fairer for her.”

But Dia’s story is only one part of Sadie’s journey. She didn’t come from money or a horsey background. She started at a riding school, working weekends in exchange for lunchtime rides.

And not so long ago, she found herself back at her mum’s house, having sold her car and wondering if she’d ever make it to the top of the sport again.

“I was a bit lost – I didn’t know what to do. I’d never really imagined doing my own thing,” Sadie says.

Little by little, Sadie rebuilt her career, and Dia has been at the heart of that comeback.

To read more about Sadie’s career and the horses and people at the heart of her comeback, pick up this week’s issue of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from 10 July.

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Dominant mare continues her remarkable unbeaten run at the National Dressage Championships 2024

Oscar Williams — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 19:32:32 +0000

Sadie Smith and her own nine-year-old mare Swanmore Dantina (Dante Weltino x Charatan W) continued their unbeaten 2024 streak to win the Stuebben inter II title on 74.15% at the 2024 LeMieux National Dressage Championships.

Micheal Eilberg and MSJ Dante VX ran them close, finishing on 73.5%, with Alexander Harrison-West and his pocket-rocket Kickback third on 69.74%.

“It’s amazing, I really wanted to win that,” beamed Sadie after the prizegiving. “It’s the first national title I’ve won above small tour and I knew it was a strong class.

“I was so pleased with the test, it’s probably some of the best work we’ve done.”

The pair had numerous highlights – their extensions across all three paces were exceptional, scoring a nine for their extended trot, eights across the board for their extended canter and an average of eight for their extended walk.

Therein lies Swanmore Dantina’s main strength – she’s remarkably well-rounded. The only time her scores dropped below a seven more than once was in their piaffe passage work, which will improve as she becomes stronger.

“I’ve been really trying with the piaffe,” Sadie added. “I’ve only done three inter II tests before coming here. She lacked a bit of confidence in it before, and I’ve not ridden much at the higher levels either, so we’re sort of learning it together.

“She’s starting to really get going in the piaffe, and I was chuffed with that. In time I’ll get more power and strength in the passage and make that more expressive, at the moment she’s still a bit green, but we’re getting there.

“I’m taking my time with her and it’s paying off because every time I go out it’s better and better. Her temperament is what makes her special. She’s not a massive mover, but she has nice paces and has learnt to do everything in a nice, correct way which means I can start to add the power in over time.

“She’s well up for it as well, which is nice. You could quite easily try to do too much too quick with her, so I’ve got to be careful not to do too much – that’s fairer for her.”

Being on the cusp of grand prix – and with such a special mare – Sadie’s career looks set to really take off in the near future. But she’s keeping her feet firmly on the ground, and said she’d wait for her former boss Carl Hester’s seal of approval before making that step up.

“It would be amazing to have a horse at grand prix, that’s what you’re always dreaming of but I’m just going to keep training over winter and I’ll just do one when he says I can.

“I’m now based by myself and when I was working for him I obviously had that constant support when I was riding. Now I have to trust my instincts a little bit, and it’s all still quite new – so I always go back to him for advice.

“But it was nice today, I had by friend Dannie Morgan helping me warmup, and it’s nice that we’re able to support each other.”

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‘She’s quite rare’: exceptional mare eclipses her rivals to take PSG title at the Winter Dressage Championships

Polly Bryan — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 17:58:47 +0000

Sadie Smith well and truly left the opposition in her wake as she headed the Magic prix st georges (PSG) gold on day one of the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships. Sadie rode a blinder on her stunning eight-year-old Dante Weltino mare Swanmore Dantina, posting 77.06% to finish almost 5% ahead of second-placed Becky Moody on James Bond 2.

Since winning the six-year-old national title in 2021, Dantina has gone from strength to strength under Sadie, recently scoring a small tour hat-trick at the Addington CDI, and once again she rose to the occasion in super style here. Last into the ring, their PSG test was fluent, expressive and mistake-free.

“She’s amazing because she always goes in the ring and is the same, and just gets on with the job,” said Sadie. “She’s so quick to learn and always tries. She’s bold and brave no matter what situation you put her in, she’s level-headed too, and never gets tense in her body.

“When I bought her she had three lovely paces but not ‘wow’ paces. But now, because of her temperament and trainability she has really learnt the suspension in trot, and she tries to use every part of her body the best way she can. That’s quite rare.”

A former rider for Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, Sadie says she is now relishing the opportunity to put into practise all she learned with her own young horse. “Dia” has made swift progress up the levels – it was only two years ago that the pair were runners-up here at novice – and the ultimate goal is grand prix.

But Sadie is keen not to over campaign the mare as she builds up her strength for the higher level work.

“It’s so lovely to have a horse like her, that I don’t want to overdo it and then spoil her,” said Sadie.

Five-star event rider claims Winter Dressage Championships title

Sara Squires collected her first national title when she topped the Petplan Equine prix st georges bronze championship, on day one of the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships. Sara, also an eventer who has ridden at five-star level, was aboard her own Laetitius C, a Londontime 10-year-old she bought from the Verden sales in Germany six years ago.

“Originally I was going to sell him within six months, but he was trickier than I thought so I’ve kept him and just trained him on. He’s become a really consistent horse,” said Sara, who stepped up to small tour level for the first time herself in late 2022.

Sara Squires and Laetitius C at the Winter Dressage Championships 2023 (Image credit: KEVIN SPARROW)